K-9 tracks down suspect in Tigard bus driver attack

A Southeast Portland man is facing charges of robbery, assault, theft, criminal mischief and harassment following an attack on a TriMet bus driver Friday, according to police.

Tigard police said a bus driver was trying to photograph vandalism to several bus seats when the assault happened at the Washington Square Mall transit center around 7 a.m.

Officers said 34-year-old Michael Olivo punched the TriMet driver and took his phone. Olivo also struck a bystander in the face for attempting to detain him, police said.

The driver, Ivan Bissell, said he noticed the suspect acting strangely during the ride to the transit center. When he stopped the bus, Bissell went back to check on the man.

He said Olivo wrote on the seats and had scratched profanity into a panel in front of his seat. Bissell said the suspect took his phone when he tried to take a picture of him, so he ran after him.

"Adrenaline causes you to kick in and do stuff," said Bissell. "I wanted my phone back and I also did not want him destroying the bus for other riders."

Bissell and another rider got the phone back, but Olivo ran away and headed north from Washington Square Mall.

While police were setting up a containment area and searching for the suspect, witnesses reported seeing Olivo head toward the Garden Home area of Portland. At one point, another TriMet bus driver saw the suspect on Oleson Road and Olivo threw a bottle at a bus as it passed, police said.

Allison McCulley, who lives in the Garden Home area, said she was getting ready for school when she heard her mom call the cops.

"My mom was saying, 'There's a man running around my backyard.' It was very scary," McCulley said. "My little brother was freaking out. He was wondering what was happening."

McCulley said she saw Olivo run straight for the backyard when he heard the sirens.

Tigard police searched the immediate area with a K-9, and Olivo was found hiding in the yard of the home on Southwest 74th Avenue, according to police.

No specific streets were blocked and no schools were in lockdown as a result of the police activity.

Olivo was taken to the Washington County Jail.

This is the first time anything like this has happened to Bissell in his 12 years driving for TriMet. He said he still feels safe on the job.

"The majority are the riders you want all the time," he said. "It's just a small number that sometimes, they do things."

Portland police seized multiple guns after serving a search warrant at a home in Gresham and Clackamas County. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, police along with East Metro County SWAT conducted a search warrant at a home in the 1000 block of Northeast 173rd Avenue and arrested Ervan Herring, 43. The Clackamas County SWAT also arrested Michael Herring, 43, during a search warrant at a home in the 16300 block of Southeast 135th Avenue.

Portland police seized multiple guns after serving a search warrant at a home in Gresham and Clackamas County. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, police along with East Metro County SWAT conducted a search warrant at a home in the 1000 block of Northeast 173rd Avenue and arrested Ervan Herring, 43. The Clackamas County SWAT also arrested Michael Herring, 43, during a search warrant at a home in the 16300 block of Southeast 135th Avenue.